Ew! Gross!

That's the reaction I get when I tell people we cloth diaper Liam.  I'm not offended mostly because I was once like them.

To be honest, before I had my son I didn't give much thought about the amount of trash I produced. It wasn't that I didn't care, I just didn't think about it.

Then I read somewhere it takes about 500 years for diapers to decompose. What!? That's when I started thinking about how many diapers a child goes through until age 2. Approximately 7500. Yep. Seven thousand five hundred. Now think about how long each one of those sits in a landfill. Then have more than one child.  Well, you get the point.

I decided to learn more about cloth diapering. I joined a cloth diapering Facebook page.  I YouTube'd until I couldn't YouTube anymore. I placed my first order, and I was hooked (Liam hadn't even arrived yet).

Besides being eco-friendly,  cloth diapering will save us thousands. Liam has yet to have a rash (he's 7 months), and they are so cute!

 

My cloth diapered baby

If anyone is interested in cloth diapering, feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

Going zero waste- week one

I cannot believe how much stuff I had that I wasn't using. It made me feel almost sick to my stomach.

Yesterday I tackled my kitchen. I only threw out things that had expired. I've planned the next week or so around what is left. Moving forward I will not buy much else in packaging. We will order some things in bulk. We have been going to the butchers with reusable containers for meat and eating a lot of produce (support your local farmers!). I felt so disappointed when I saw how much I had let go to waste. I know my new lifestyle will make me more conscientious of what we have.

I thought this process would be overwhelming,  but so far it is just the opposite. I already feel healthier, not to mentioned a whole heck of a lot more organized.

In the weeks to follow I will experiment with making my own make up. Wish me luck!

Goodbye clothes!

I look at the pile of crap I held onto for so long. I almost reach for a beautiful dress to put back in my closet, but then remind myself, "Alexis Nicole, you have worn that one time in four years."

I feel so light right now. I look in my empty bureau and nearly empty closet and feel.... happiness. No longer will I feel overwhelmed when getting ready. No longer will my husband hear me proclaim "I have nothing to wear!" simply because I cannot find my way around my huge mess of a closet.

My wardrobe has been whittled down to my favorite classic pieces.  The few things I put on that make me feel confident.

Here's to a simple closet and a soon to be simple life!

Before

After

Let's talk dirty!

Okay, so the title may be a little misleading, but did I get your attention?

One thing we have really focused on to make our home eco-friendly and create less waste is going green with our cleaning supplies. Here's the breakdown:

Green Cleaning must-haves:
*Vinegar- great for just about everything
*Baking soda- for scrubbing
*Tea tree essential oil- disinfectant (great for the bathroom)
*Lavender essential oil- disinfectant, smells great!
*Lemon
*Castille soap
*Steam mop- I absolutely love my steam mop!

Bathroom
     Toilet Bowl Cleaner
          1 cup vinegar
          1/4 cup baking soda
               -mix
               -let it sit for 15 minutes
               -scrub and flush
     Grout cleaner
          1 part water
          1 part baking soda
               -make paste
              -scrub

Kitchen
     Stove top cleaner
         1 part olive oil
         2 parts baking soda


Dusting/glass cleaning/polishing
     Wood polish
          1 tbsp olive oil
          Juice of 1 lemon
          1 tbsp water
               -combine all ingredients
               -shake, pour into cloth, polish
     Glass cleaner/all purpose/floor cleaner
          1 part vinegar
          1 part water
          A few drops EO (for all purpose, not for windows or glass)
               - combine in spray bottle, shake, spray!
   

There are so many recipes online to make your own cleaning products.  These are just a few that I love. Once our dish detergent runs out we will be making our own (post to follow). what eco-friendly cleaning products do you use?

A new year

2015! Here we go!

For a while now I have been working towards living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.  This is the year that I will concentrate on making the big changes!

In a perfect world, I would like my family to be a completely zero waste household.  We may not get there 100%, but you can bet we will get pretty darn close!

Changes we have made so far:

-we use all reusable bags
-soap nuts for laundry (except cloth diapers, more to follow at a later time)
-wool balls for fabric softener
-we make a lot of our toiletries
-most of our food comes un-packaged
- we cloth diaper (I love cloth diapering so much!)

I am slowly making a lot of changes. Currently tackling my wardrobe to turn it into a minimalist wardrobe has proven difficult (so.attached.to.my.shoes.!.).

I would love to hear about your goals for the new year! What are some resolutions you've made?